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1935 Bugatti Aerolithe re-creation completed: Lost magnesium-bodied coupe replicated after years of effort

February 3, 2013

1 of 8After years of labor, the long-lost, magnesium-bodied 1935 Bugatti Aerolithe coupe has been re-created.

Photo by Ronan McGrath

2 of 8The magnesium bodywork of the Bugatti Aerolithe was extremely difficult to replicate, but like that on the 1935 original, it is extremely lightweight.

Photo by Ronan McGrath

3 of 8Styling features on the 1935 Bugatti Aerolithe, such as the prominent fin bisecting its body, would reappear on the legendary Bugatti Atlantics.

Photo by Ronan McGrath

4 of 8Because only black-and-white photographs of the 1935 Bugatti Aerolithe survive, a period painting helped modern coachbuilders deduce its color.

Photo by Ronan McGrath

5 of 8The interior of the 1935 Bugatti Aerolithe was clean and understated -- just like the interior on this recreation.

Photo by Ronan McGrath

6 of 8The dashboard is simple, uncluttered and extremely elegant.

Photo by Ronan McGrath

7 of 8Even the obsolete Dunlop Balloon whitewall tires were re-created to match the newly built Bugatti Aerolithe.

Photo by Ronan McGrath

8 of 8A view of the magnesium-bodied 1935 Bugatti Aerolithe re-creation in the shop of the Guild of Automotive Restorers.

Photo by Ronan McGrath

Some of the most beautiful cars ever built were created in the 1930s. That's when the gorgeous Talbot-Lago teardrop coupes appeared alongside wildly styled Delahayes and, most famously, the Type 57 Bugatti Atlantics -- two of which survive to the present.

When new, these cars made everything around them seem obsolete. Today, they evoke the glamour and modernity of the art deco period -- and they regularly go for stratospheric prices at auction.

There was, however, one unique and mysterious car that showed up in 1935, made a single auto show appearance and was gone, never to be seen again. It was called the Aerolithe, and while it was one of the most beautiful of all Bugattis, it was also one of the shortest lived.

Even by Bugatti standards, the Aerolithe was no ordinary car. Built a few years before the infamous type 57SC Atlantics, the Aerolithe clearly inspired their shapes -- yet it shared no dimensions with the well-known trio of coupes.

Constructed on a non-supercharged type 57 chassis, the Aerolithe's body was built of magnesium, a brittle, inflammable material that offered one great advantage: It was extremely lightweight.

The Aerolithe made a sensational debut at the 1935 Earl's Court Motor Show in the U.K. and had one road test in 1936. It was never sold by the factory.

That's where the Aerolithe story comes to a dead end. The car was never seen again; it was most likely destroyed for materials during the war.

When the Guild of Automotive Restorers in Bradford, Ontario was commissioned to re-create the missing car, all that existed was a handful of black-and-white photographs and a few of rough blueprints.

But accumulating those resources was just the beginning. A research team digitized the photographs, and every line and shadow was blown up, analyzed and argued over by the historians. After months of work and much trial and error, the team was able to re-establish the precise dimensions of the original car.

There was early controversy as to whether the original car had been supercharged, but after exhaustive analysis, it was concluded that its inline-eight had been naturally aspirated.

David Grainger, the proprietor of the Guild and a veteran of many restorations had an original type 57 chassis (number 57104) complete with engine and running gear. All that was needed was the car's signature feature: Its body.

To construct it, the restoration team had to learn to handle dangerous magnesium. The team had spent a long time determining which period-correct alloy to use; in the end, the appropriate metal turned out to be much more difficult to shape than more modern mixes. Because of the material's brittleness, narrow strips of the flammable material had to be welded together to make the complex curves of the art deco body.

Color was a key question for the team as all existing photos were black-and-white. However, a painting of the car existed, and by comparing this with other Bugatti colors, the original paint shade was identified.

Even finding tires required extra effort. The photographs of the car at its only Motor Show appearance displayed it shod on Dunlop Balloon whitewall tires. Nothing suitable could be found, so the tires were custom fabricated after long but successful negotiations with the owners of the Dunlop trademarks.

From start to finish, the research, planning and execution of the Aerolithe build took five years of trial and error. Now complete, the car will soon be making its way to its owner.

With its curved haunches and long nose, the finished car has the look of a leaping cat. It has a taut sinuousness to it, seeming to be in motion even when still. The prominent center spine, which later appeared on the Atlantics, was both aesthetic and functional; it helped stiffen the car's magnesium-alloy body panels. The interior is classic Bugatti with its center-aligned Jaeger instrumentation and simple green leather seats.

When a key part of automotive history simply disappears, the debate rages as to whether we should attempt to fill the gaps with modern tributes.

As a precursor to the legendary Atlantics, the 1935 Bugatti Aerolithe seemed like a natural candidate for such re-creation. Its carefully researched, skillfully crafted replica enriches our appreciation of one of the most gorgeous designs in automotive history.

It not yet been announced where or when -- or if -- the Aerolithe will make a public appearance, but it would be a shame if the long-missing, newly re-created Bugatti disappeared completely from the public eye once again.